This application relates generally to real-time monitoring of a user's blood lactate (also referred to lactic acid) concentration during a physical activity and providing training guidance to that user during the physical activity. Methods, media, and apparatus that can increase training efficiency by providing real-time feedback based on lactate concentration are described herein.
“Getting fit” is a perennial New Year's resolution. The availability of a wide range of exercise equipment, training aids, and fitness magazines bears testament to the basic fact that some training methods are more effective than others. Even when an individual seeks to increase his or her fitness, the effectiveness of training can be compromised if the user engages in a training regimen that was not specifically designed for that individual and/or by deviations from the training protocol. Elite athletes have long benefited from coaches and training staffs that carefully monitor training regimens and adjust exertion goals based on performance.
Training responses vary at different levels of intensity. Because the human body uses multiple energy systems for fueling output, including aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, training efficiency can be improved by targeting specific energy systems for specific durations. Elite and amateur athletes alike can improve the efficiency of their workouts by conforming their workouts to structured training regimens, which may prescribe target intensity, target duration, and/or a sequence of different intensities.
Developing a structured training regimen for a particular individual and/or accurately conforming a workout to a structured training regimen requires insight into the body's function. Several indicators can be used as proxies for measuring exertion, including heart rate, levels of carbon dioxide exhaled, and concentrations of lactate in the blood. Heart rate, however, is an unreliable indicator of exertion activity with high latency. Carbon dioxide measurements require specialized exercise lab equipment. Lactate concentration is an excellent proxy for exertion, but has historically not been available in real-time and/or without drawing blood. A need therefore exists for methods, media, and apparatus for optimizing physical training based on real-time blood lactate monitoring.